This invention pertains generally to packing materials and, more particularly, to a system and method for delivering air-filled packing cushions to a location where they are used.
Small air-filled cushions or pillows are used as a protective filling material in packing fragile items and other objects in shipping cartons and the like. One particularly preferred machine for making such cushions is disclosed in copending Ser. No. 08/905,692, U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,215. The cushions exit that machine in the form of a continuous string or stream of cushions, with perforations between the cushions permitting them to be torn apart individually or in groups, as desired.
A problem with any packing material is transporting it from the location where it is made to the location where it is to be used. With air-filled cushions, the problem is somewhat unique in that no apparatus has heretofore been provided for conveying such materials.
It is in general an object of the invention to provide a new and improved system for delivering air-filled packing cushions to a location where they are to be used.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system of the above character in which the air-filled cushions are manufactured at the point of use.
These and other objects are achieved in accordance with the invention by providing a conveyor which includes an elongated duct having inlet and outlet ends, means for feeding a continuous string of air-filled cushions into the inlet end of the duct, an inlet for air in a wall of the duct near the inlet end, and a baffle near the inlet opening for directing air passing through the opening in a longitudinal direction within the duct to establish a flow of air for conveying the string of cushions through the duct toward the outlet end.
In one disclosed embodiment in which the cushions are made at the point of use, the duct extends vertically, and the cushions are fed directly into the lower end of the duct by a machine which makes them. The string of cushions is discharged from the upper end of the duct into a bin from which they can be withdrawn as needed for use in cartons supported by a stand positioned beneath the bin.